Happy 225th birthday to the U.S. Constitution

Sunday

Sep 16, 2012 at 12:01 AMSep 16, 2012 at 5:40 PM

It was 225 years ago — Sept. 17, 1787 — members of the Constitutional Convention signed the historic document that created a framework for government based on unique ideas about freedom and the rights of individuals.

Eight years ago, Congress established a federal holiday to celebrate the Constitution and, in a move the freedom-loving Founding Fathers surely would have found superfluous, passed a law requiring all government-funded schools to provide educational programs on the Constitution.

If you’re reading this, chances are you won’t be in the classroom of Alamance-Burlington schools today. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn about the Constitution and test your knowledge.

Here goes …

The Times-News

Constitution Day Quiz

1. Who represented North Carolina at the Constitutional Convention and signed the final document?

2. In what American city was the convention held?

3. Who was the oldest delegate to the convention? The youngest?

4. Which state did not send any delegates to the convention?

5. Who is known as the Father of the Constitution?

6. How many delegates to the convention signed the Constitution?

7. What is the Bill of Rights?

8. What guarantees are in the First Amendment?

9. Which amendment abolished slavery?

10. When did North Carolina ratify the Constitution?

Check your answers below so see if you go to the top of the class in U.S. history or need a remedial course.

However you score, spend some time today reflecting on the Constitution of the United States and the freedoms we all enjoy.

Answers

1. William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson

2. Philadelphia, at that time the largest city in the country with a population of 40,000. The delegates met in the same building where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

3. Benjamin Franklin, 81, was the oldest. The youngest was Jonathan Dayton, 26, of New Jersey.

4. Rhode Island. The state legislature’s controlling party feared that a stronger central government would demand that debts be paid in hard money. Rhode Island also became the last state to ratify the Constitution.

5. James Madison of Virginia. He later became president of the United States.

6.Thirty-nine. Fourteen had left Philadelphia for home and three refused to sign because there was no Bill of Rights.

7.The first 10 amendments to the Constitution.

8. Freedom of religion, speech, the press and the right to assembly and petition.

9.Thirteenth Amendment.

10. Nov. 21, 1789, after George Washington had become president.

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